Safety-guard for trolley-wires at railroad-crossings.



Nb. 729,523.; PATE'NTED JUNE'VZ, 1190s,

' I GsD, AUSTIN. I

SAFETY GUARDgFOR TROLLEY WIRES AT RAILROAD onossmes.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 10, 1903 N0 MODEL.

nu x UNrTED STATES Patented June 2, 1903.

PATENT GFFICE.

CHARLES D. AUSTIN, AMSTERDAM, NEW YORK.

-SAFETY-GUARD FOR TROLLEY-WIRES AT RAILROAD-CROSSiNG.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 729,523, dated June 2, 1903. I

' Application filed April 10, 1903 fierial No. 151,987. (No model.)

T on whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, CHARLES D. AUSTIN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Amsterdam, in the county of Montgomery and- State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Safety-Guards it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which, forma part of this specification.

My invention relates to overhead trolley electric railways; and it has for its object to provide means to prevent 'a trolley-car from stalling at the crossing of a steam orother railroad.

To this end the invention consists, primarily, in providing the trolley-wire or conductor at a railroad-crossing with an electricallycharged guard extending to opposite sides of the trolley-wire or conductor and in a downwardly-extending direction, so that if the trolley-wheel should leave the wire or conductor on approaching the railroad crossing the wheel will come in contact with the electrically-charged guard at either side of the trolley wire or conductor and receive from the electrically-charged guard the electrical cur rent at whatever point of distance the wheel may be removed from the trolley-wire, and thusinsure the transmission of the current to the motor of the car until the car passes the'crossing, so that the possibility of the car stalling at the crossing will be prevented.

The invention further consists in novel features of construction and combination of parts, all of which will, be hereinafter particularly described and then sought to be clearly definedby the claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof, andi'in which Figure 1 is an end view of an overhead construction embodying my invention; Fig. 2, a longitudinal elevation showing a portion of the safety-guard and one of the supportingyokes and representing the trolley-wire as passing longitudinally through the guard; Fig. 3, a front elevation of the safety-guard and its supporting-yoke, and Fig.4 a-plan view of a double-track electric railway at a steam-road crossing with-my invention applied.

In the accompanying drawings the letter E designates the two tracks of a double-track electric railway, and the letter S designates the two tracks of a steam-railroad at the point where one set of tracks cross the other, and P designates poles which extend, as usual, along the line of the electric railway and from which, as usual, brace stay-wires W extend across the tracks for the purpose of bracing the trolley-wires T, which are suspended from the supporting-wires W", whichextend, as usual, from one pole P to the opposite pole, the insulators I being interposed between the poles P and the brace stay-wires W and other insulators I being interposed between the supporting-wiresWand the ears D,by means of which the trolley-wires ..T are suspended from the wires W". These several parts may be of any ordinary approved type and will serve for an illustration of the manner of applying my invention, which will now be described. I

At the point where the tracks cross each other and parallel with the trolley-wire T, I support. a safety-guard B, which will extend from a distance to one side of the intersecting tracks S to a point at a distance from the other side of the tracks S, as illustrated in Fig. 3 of the drawings, so that if the trolleywheel 0 of the trolley-rod R shouldleave the trolley-wire T on the car approaching the crossing said trolley-wheel will come in contact with the safety-guard B and receive the I electrical current therefrom, and thusinsure the car being carried across the intersecting railroad-crossing without the possibility of stalling at the crossing. The safety-guard B is made in the form of an inverted trough in cross-section,whose opposite sides diverge, as illustrated in Fig. 3 of the drawings,-and have their lower edges flaring outwardly, as'indicated at B, so as to afford a wide'range of cross-area covered by the safety-guard, and thus insure contact of the trolley-wheel with the inner side of the safety-guard throughout a considerable lateral movement of the trolley-wheel. The safety-guard B is secured to and supported at different points by the yokes ICO A, which are provided with lugs II for attachment thereto of the cross stay-wires V, the upper ends of the yokes being formed with central sockets G, through which the trolleywiresupporting ears D pass, the yokes being held firmly in place by the nuts N screwed onto the ears D and bearing against the top of the sockets G. The electric current passes from the trolley-Wires T and through the ears D to the safety-guards B, which will he made of brass or othersuitable conducting tnetal, and thus the safety-guards are charged with the current from the trolleywires, so that when the trolleywheel is in contact with the safety-guard at any point through the cross-area of the latter it will receive the current. therefrom and transmit it to the motor of the car, and thus insure the car being propelled across the intersecting track in the event of the trolley-wheel leaving the trolley-wire the same as if the wheel remained in contact with the trolley-wire. This will be the case whether the trolleywheel in the event of its leaving the trolleywire passes above the trolley-wire or drops below the satne and to either side thereof, and thus insuring'the car crossing the intersecting track and avoiding the possibility of the car stalling at the crossing and the danger incident thereto from collision with a car running upon the intersecting track. For the purpose of staying the safetyguards B guywires IV are connected to the ends of the safety-guards and to the cross stay-wires W. This construction also enables the safetyguards to be applied to overhead-trolley systems already installed, it being only necessary to attach the yokes which carry the safety-guards at the crossings in the manner hereinbefore described, and it enables the safety-guards,with theirsupporting-yokes, to be made up as complete articles ready to be supplied for application to any road already constructed and in use.

I have illustrated and described the preferred details of construction of the several parts; but it is obvious that changes can be made therein and essential features of my invention still be retained.

Having described my invention and set forth its merits, what I claim is 1. In an overhead-system electric railway, the combination with the trolley-wire ata railroad-crossing, of an inverted-trough-shaped safety-guard suspended parallel with the .tzrolley-wire at the crossing and having depending electrically-00nducting sides in electrical connection with the trolley-wire to receive the current therefrom and transmit it to the trolley-wheel in the event of the latter leaving the wire, substantially as described.

2. In an overhead-system electric railway, the combination with the trolley-wire at a railroad-crossing, of an inverted-trough-shaped safety-guard suspended parallel with the trolley-wire at the crossing and having diverging downwardly-extending electrically-conducting sides in electrical connection with the trolley-Wire to receive the current therefrom and transmit it to the trolley-wheel in the event of the latter leaving the wire, substantially as described.

3. In an overhead-system electric railway, the combination with the trolley-wire at a railroad-crossing, of an inverted-trough-shaped safety-guard suspended parallel with the trolley-wire at the crossing and having diverging downwardly-depending electrically-conducting sides with outwardly-flaring edges and in electrical connection with the trolley-wire to receive the current therefrom and transmit it to the trolley-wheel in the event of the latter leaving the wire, substantially as described.

'4. A safety-guard for trolley-wires at a railroad crossing, consisting of an invertedtrough-shaped guard having depending electrically-conducting sides, a yoke straddling the trough-shaped guard and within which the guard is secured, and means for effecting an electrical connection between the guard and a trolley-wire, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

CHARLES D. AUSTIN.

Witnesses:

EDWARD P. WHITE, JAMES W. FERGUSON. 

